


listen close

by fangirl_squee



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: M/M, Secret Samol 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 04:35:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29129637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirl_squee/pseuds/fangirl_squee
Summary: On the radio, Hector took a call from someone who was concerned about city officials being replaced by clones.“Perfectly reasonable,” said Hector, “But the real danger, of course, is in what the cloneswant. Even a clone has their own desires, just as we all do. That’s something we should all keep in mind - what are the wants of others, what are our wants. What is it that you want?”To get some sleep, thought Heard,that’s what I want.
Relationships: Agent Heard/Hector Hu
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	listen close

**Author's Note:**

  * For [springs_charioteer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/springs_charioteer/gifts).



> happy secret samol!!

Hector was on the radio again tonight. He’d gone from having a midweek-and-every-other-weekend spot to a regular nightly spot, his voice a quiet murmur over the sounds of the city. Heard listened, his habit of putting the radio on for background noise as he reviewed case notes leading him right into listening to Hector as he got ready for bed, the chiming of Hector’s theme song notifying him of the late hour.

It had been this way since Hector went undercover, really. Heard had always enjoyed  _ The Break _ but he’d never been as avid a listener as he had been for the past few months. Hector’s show felt at odds with the Concern but also exactly aligned with it, the callers as likely to strike upon something Heard knew to be true as they were to say something absolutely ridiculous. Hector took it all with the same rolling calm that Heard had seen from him during the brief window they’d worked together. He was the perfect fit for this kind of assignment - the kind of person who could get other people talking, the kind of person who always felt as though he was on your side.

He’d recommended Heard to be promoted, before he’d left. Each time Heard thought of it, his chest felt tight, which was ridiculous. He wasn’t  _ nervous _ about a  _ promotion _ . He  _ wanted _ to be a Deep Blue Agent. He would be a  _ great _ Deep Blue Agent. The process of the promotion was taking a long time, as all paperwork in the Concern did. More than likely it wouldn’t be finalised until Hector had returned. Perhaps they’d even be assigned a mission together, as equals rather than as mentor and trainee. Hector had said they worked well together. He’d even written it down, the neatly typed confirmation of his words, where anyone might read them, making Heard’s stomach flip. 

Heard rolled onto his side, watching the illuminated numbers of the clock radio slowly tick toward morning. It was only natural that Hector’s high regard for him felt like such a victory. Hector was a well-respected senior agent. To have someone like him praise Heard in such an unambiguous way was good for his career.

On the radio, Hector took a call from someone who was concerned about city officials being replaced by clones.

“Perfectly reasonable,” said Hector, “But the real danger, of course, is in what the clones  _ want _ . Even a clone has their own desires, just as we all do. That’s something we should all keep in mind - what are the wants of others, what are our wants. What is it that you want?”

Heard let out a long breath. He could almost picture Hector’s expression, the tilt of his head, the small quirk of his lips, the way he would tilt his body towards Heard, as though inviting Heard in on his amusement.

_ To get some sleep _ , thought Heard,  _ that’s what I want _ .

He didn’t fall asleep. Each time he felt himself sink under, Hector’s voice pulled him back into wakefulness. Really, he should have just switched it off, he had work in the morning, but… well, this was a kind of work. A way to learn from Hector, even though Hector was not technically his mentor agent while he was undercover on assignment.

There was still plenty to learn from Hector - how he got people talking, not even about what they’d called about, but just anything, until they were known to him. How knowledgeable he seemed, speaking with confidence no matter how ridiculous his proposed theory was. How the timbre of his voice changed, how amusement would curl through the thoughtful rumble of his words.

Even as Heard finally fell into sleep he could still feel the warmth of it, curling through the night air to sink into Heard’s chest.

The next night everything was different. Hector was still on the radio, his voice drifting through Heard’s sparsely-decorated apartment, the theories of the callers still as wild, the topics still as wide-ranging as ever, but there was something in the tone of it, something Heard didn’t recognise.

Not that he had memorised the sound of Hector’s voice. Just that he was quite familiar with it, having spent so many hours as a mentee agent under Hector’s tutelage. Of course he knew what the man sounded like.

He listened to the show for a few hours, staring up at the ceiling as he tried to puzzle out the difference. Fireworks from the Veranda’s anniversary gala went off outside, illuminating his grey ceiling with coloured light. On the radio, Hector talked about short-wave frequencies affecting the growth of fruits and vegetables. An ordinary kind of night. Everything was as it should be.

Heard switched off the radio and turned to face the wall. Even without Hector’s voice to distract him, it still took him a long time to fall asleep, an odd twisting feeling in his stomach. This was normal too. At some point, you drifted away from the agent who had been your mentor, rendering you as no more than colleagues. That was fine. That was what was supposed to happen.

Heard kept listening to the radio until Hector’s show became unbearable, long before Hector died. Long before he was given the mission to locate and detain him. It didn’t help him sleep as well as it used to, but he kept listening. It was good to keep people like that fresh in your mind, of course. Even a new strange-voiced Hector was something.

Hector, when Heard saw him again at last, was nothing like the version of himself on the radio, but he wasn’t exactly like he was in Heard’s memory either.

“It’s because we’re not in the Concern any more,” said Hector, grinning at him as they leant against the railing in the purposely-nondescript apartment using as their temporary headquarters.

The smoke from his cigarette curled in the air, drifting into the pale afternoon sky.

“We’re on equal footing now, too,” said Hector, “You should feel differently around me than you did before.”

“That’s not it,” said Heard, “I feel the same.”

Hector’s eyes lingered on him for a moment before he looked back out over the balcony. Heard followed his gaze. It wasn’t a particularly inspiring view, mostly of the parking lot, although if you leaned at the right angle you could see a tiny sliver of the ocean between the hotels that lined the shore. Hector took a drag of his cigarette and Heard watches as the smoke drifted outwards towards the tiny strip of glitter blue water in the distanced

He felt Hector’s eyes on him and quickly straightened, clearing his throat. “I- The only time I felt different around you was when you were on the radio, at least for the end of your show’s run.”

“Can’t blame me for that,” said Hector evenly, “Having a peel in your place is never quite the same. No matter how good a job you do on it, they always turn out a little different. Especially that one, couldn’t exactly give it the same life experience. Would have defeated the whole purpose.”

“Right,” said Heard, “Right, of course.”

Hector let out a breath, tapping the ash of his cigarette off the balcony’s edge. “Wish I could have stuck around until after that last Veranda shindig though. Heard that was a wild night.”

Heard watched as he lifted the cigarette to his mouth for another slow drag. His fingers twitched on the railing.

“The Verandas?”

“Some anniversary party,” said Hector, the words coming out in the smoke, “After I left I heard a lot of wild rumours about the fireworks that night. Would have been fun to cover.”

A memory shot through Heard, fireworks flashing on the ceiling as Hector’s not-quite-right voice echoed from his clock radio.

“I knew there was something different,” said Heard, “I was- I used to listen to your show, something, and it was- there was a point where it was different.”

Hector’s eyes drifted to Heard’s face and stayed there. Heard swallowed, his fingers twitching again on the balcony.

“You  _ knew _ , huh?” said Hector.

“I- A good agent should be able to notice even minute changes to their environment,” said Heard, “I was simply… listening closely.”

The corners of Hector’s lips quirked upwards. “You must have been listening  _ very  _ closely.”

Heard felt his cheeks burn and he ducked his head, looking down at the drab parking lot. In-between the covered car parking areas he could see patches of ragged flowers, doing their best to grow in the sea air.

“I suppose,” Heard managed to say.

He felt Hector step towards him, resting a hand on the railing next to Heard’s. He could feel where the heat of Hector’s hand began warming the metal, sinking into his skin. He curled his toes in his shoes, letting out a long, slow breath. The actions, though recommended by the Concern as a form of meditation, did nothing to slow his heartbeat.

“I had no idea you were a fan,” said Hector quietly.

“I- It was for investigative purposes,” said Heard, “It was instructional, listening to how a senior agent behaved undercover.”

Hector paused, turning to face Heard, his hip leaning against the railing. The fabric of his jacket brushed Heard’s fingertips and Heard felt the sparks of it all the way up his arm.

“No,” said Hector, “I don’t think that’s it.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” said Heard, perhaps a shade too quickly.

Hector regarded him carefully. “It doesn’t matter that you didn’t listen to me for work purposes. I think I’ve made it very clear what I think of the Concern’s work purposes.”

His gaze burned into Heard as silence hung between them. Heard thought of every Concern training session and test he underwent when he was starting out, the instructor glaring down at him from the viewing room above him. He thought of training with Hector, after, Hector leaning back against the wall behind him, watching him closely, stepping forward to adjust Heard’s grip on a weapon or to pull down a file he’d overlooked. He thought of Hector now, pulling him away from a burning buffet table. The Hector of the current moment, shifted, so that his fingers brushed Heard’s on the railing.

He wasn’t in the Concern any more. He was with Hector, and whatever they were building here together.

_ What do you want _ , said the Hector of long-ago. 

“I listened because I… because I wanted to hear your voice,” said Heard, his words coming out on a rush of breath.

The corners of Hector’s lips twitched upwards again. “Well. Now you can hear it any time. The real version too, not a peel, not through the radio. You just have to ask.”

Hector’s hand shifted again, covering Heard’s. Heard inhaled sharply, pressing his lips together. His heart beat double-time as he looked down at their joined hands. Hector’s touch was light, but even that was almost too much. The warmth of it traveled quickly, settling in Heard’s chest, squeezing the breath from him. 

Hector rubbed his thumb along Heard’s, as slow and steady as the tide. Heard let out a breath slowly. The pressure in his chest loosened, becoming a curling warmth. He could feel tension leave his back that he hadn’t even realised he was holding, drifting out of him into the open air. He took a deep breath in, looking up at Hector.

Hector smiled, as deep and as comforting as a voice on the radio late at night. Heard felt the warmth inside him shift, pushing upwards until he could feel a smile on his own face. Behind Hector, the sun had begun to slip below the horizon, turning the sliver of water a glittering pink. It made him think of fireworks.

“Yes,” said Heard, “I suppose I could do that.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> come say hi: mariusperkins on most places


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